Sources: Patriots won’t bring back Antonio Brown despite recent struggles

December 8, 2019

Although they need additional offensive weapons for their postseason push, the New England Patriots will not re-sign wide receiver Antonio Brown, league sources told ESPN.

Brown has apologized to the Patriots, to the public and to others, but New England hasn’t considered bringing him back since deciding to move on from him during the season, as much as the offense could use him.

Although Brown won’t be resurfacing in New England, he is expected to find work once the NFL wraps up its investigation.

“There are teams out there that would love to sign him once [his case] is resolved,” said Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who has maintained regular contact with a handful of teams regarding their interest in Brown.

But the NFL’s investigation is almost 3 months old, and even if it were to wrap up before the regular season ended, Brown could wind up on the commissioner’s exempt list and face additional league-imposed discipline.

Brown, 31, is being investigated by the NFL under its personal conduct policy after a lawsuit filed by his former trainer Britney Taylor that alleges she was sexually assaulted by Brown on multiple occasions. Brown also was accused of sexual misconduct at his home by an artist who was working there in 2017.

Brown met with the NFL for eight hours last month in Florida as part of the investigation, according to ESPN’s Josina Anderson. Brown has denied the allegations.

One day later, Brown apologized to the Patriots and owner Robert Kraft in an Instagram post, writing: “Mr. Kraft I apologize sincerely to you and your organization! All I wanted to be was an asset to the organization; sorry for the bad media and the drama ! Thank you sincerely AB”.

Among those to like the post was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

The Patriots released Brown on Sept. 20, just 11 days after signing him. Two days later, Brown called out Kraft and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, comparing their legal issues to his own.

The Patriots (10-2) lead the AFC East but are just 14th in the NFL in total offense and have struggled to score of late, averaging just 18 points per game in their past four contests.